Overview

• Media Control presented Merkel with its inaugural Gold Award in Baden-Baden after her bestselling biography Freiheit was named book of the year 2024/2025.
• Since leaving office, Merkel said she misses the Chancellor’s Office floral arrangements most and admits she foresaw this sentiment even while in power.
• She joked to a student that she now has to procure her own meals following the loss of the Chancellor’s kitchen staff.
• Bundestag President Julia Klöckner highlighted Merkel’s fondness for her Thermomix in her laudatio, prompting Merkel’s dry retort, “I can cook.”
• Published by Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Freiheit has become the decade’s most successful biography with record-breaking sales.